Who has kids?

[HLxDrummer]

Well, my wife is about 16 weeks pregnant and I am completely overwhelmed with everything we need to buy. I always research everything forever before I buy so looking to get a jump start. Looking for some advice:

Do we need two car seats, one for her car and one for mine? Or just two bases?

Any suggestions on car seats? I really wanted a Recaro for obvious reasons, but it looks like they are bulky and some people don't like them. My wife has an '08 Legacy and I have an '07 Forester.

How does the whole stroller thing work? I've seen people put car seats into strollers before but not sure how that happens.. Are there any good multipurpose strollers (light, portable, good storage, all terrain, etc)?

Any baby monitor suggestions?

Any suggestions or advice in general is appreciated!

[NickS VR4]

To start. For 0-20ish lbs, I would go with the 2 bases and baby carrier. I think we had the Graco 35. Odds are the baby will always be with that carrier, but it will switch between vehicles.

As far as the car seat, we went with the pricey, highly reviewed one, Chicco Nextfit. It's very nice.

Stroller, my wife wanted something light, so went with the City Mini. They have an attachment so you can put the baby carrier in it. Its a "good" stroller. Pros, very light and easy to use. Cons, less storage/options.

Baby Monitor, we went with Motorola, but I think if I could do it again, I would just get a wireless camera set up on the network. Not the proprietary "Baby Monitor" that isn't very flexible. For cheaper, you can get one that does all the same stuff, but can be accessed wherever you want and controlled via smartphone.

Other than that, don't expect much sleep. Have my second kid on the way now.

Also, breast feeding, or bottle feeding?

And most importantly, Congrats!

[atarirx]

Everything will be fine, don't stress! We just had #3 a couple weeks ago and I'm still somehow finding time for the cars too. When they are babies just get a carrier and put a base in each car, it's easy to pop the carrier in and out. We use the Chicco Keyfit 30, and have the stroller to go with it too. As they grow you pretty much need a seat in each car but that's not till later. Baby monitors, just buy whatever is cheap, they all do the same thing!

[KeithMac]

I've got an 8 year old son and a 3 year old daughter, both can be a handful at times but would never go back!.

Big responsibility but big rewards as well .

We bought car seats for the family Focus and I bought an extra one for the GTO, I believe they are all Graco (very well made).

If you cars have ISO-fix it's a lot less faffing about.

[KeithMac]

Almost forgot, most important thing; Congratulations!.

[NickS VR4]

+1 on the greatest thing. I was scared of how it was going to change my life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are a blessing.

[Jimvr4]

Yeah, I got kids. They are 27, 25, and 22 now They were only 6, 4 and 2 when I got my first 3S

[95gto]

When the baby is newborn to less than a year old a travel system car seat is really what you want.

Graco Travel System Strollers, Free Shipping on All Travel Systems - Babies"R"Us

These allow you to move a single seat between cars so long as you have a base in each car, and the bases are cheap compared to a full car seat. Not to mention that this setup allows you to load the baby into the seat when you are indoors. This keeps the baby out of the elements as much as possible and allows you to move them in and out of cars quickly and while still sleeping. Also the travel system takes care of the stroller issue, and the stroller can still be used for when the baby is too big for the infant car seat.

The only thing to watch out for with these setups is that the manufacturers will update the design of the bases frequently and parts are not reverse compatible. So if you look at an older model on clearance or a used setup at a re-sale shop, be sure to check that you can still get the correct extra bases you will need.

With respect to the monitors, my wife and I went low tech with just normal audio only monitors. The video monitors are nice but we didn't feel the feature justified the added cost.

[J-Groove]

Congrats!

Here is our little man.



So far a lot of good advice, I'm basically going to repeat the same thing said here.

For when they are little, one baby carrier and a base in each car is the most convenient set up.

We've been a fan of the Safety 1st brand. The car seat he is in now looks pretty cool, it is just black and grey.

For the baby monitor, we have a video with night vision, works great, very handy to be able to look at the monitor and tell easier if it is a real cry or a fake cry when they get older.

Best advice to you, is to listen to the LOADS of advice you will receive, but in the end do what you feel is right. A lot of the advice I received I used as a cautionary tale instead of instructions. Look to see kids behaving the way you would like, then see how their parents interact with them. I really like the way 4 of my cousins turned out (1 in college, 1 in high school, and 2 in middle school) so Tiffany and I talked to my Mom's little brother, Uncle John and Gina, to see what they did when raising their kids for tips that worked for them.

-John

[j2k4]

Much of my advice for you would be, oh....passe, I guess, but I would say this - if you have married the right woman, literally half your concerns are ameliorated.

I thought I had the right ideas about raising kids, but my efforts were entirely and comprehensively short-circuited by my having married a wrong-headed woman.

Best of luck with what should be one of the most pleasureful endeavors of your life.